Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

Table

By katie Morris

kemorris@vwc.edu

Other than a few occasional dishes like gyros and an Asian dish or two, it sometimes seems that Sandella’s is as exotic as Wesleyan cuisine gets. Though, that’s hardly being fair. Most students do have to eat on campus everyday, which can after a while seem more bland than it may actually be. Though, it’s not exactly cheap, if you’re looking for something different, Espeto na Brasa might be just the place to go.

Espeta na Brasa is a churrascaria (“steak house” in Portugese). It’s a whole new experience, especially for those who haven’t yet adventured into the realm of Brazilian cuisine. Though the food may not necessarily be that exotic, the presentation is anything but ordinary.

Brazilian restaurants are not like most traditional restaurants. You don’t sit down, look at a menu and then place and order. Instead, a succession of meats is brought around on skewers and offered to you. If you want to try some of the meat, a portion is cut off and put onto your plate. You’re given a small, cylindrical table marker that’s divided into a red and a green side. As long as the green side is up, a waiter will bring you courses of meat. To take a break, you simply turn the red side up.

One of the few downsides to Espeto na Brasa is the price. On week days, lunch is $17.95 a person for the full lunch, and $12.95 for just the salad bar and hot dishes. Dinner is a wallet-damaging $34.95 a person and $19.95 for the salad bar and hot dishes. At first glance at the prices, it seems like you’d have to stop by the bank for a loan before heading to the restaurant. However, for the amount of food you get, it’s really not that unreasonable. Some of the waiters even joke that when they eat dinner there, they make sure not to eat anything for the entire day. If they eat there frequently, one can only hope that they get an employee discount and incredible tips.

While it certainly won’t fit into most college kid budgets for every day meals, it’s a great for special occasions or just try to out.

The lunch serving includes seven kinds of meat, but the dinner has thirteen. Some of the meats one might encounter at Espeto na Brasa are chicken legs, chicken wrapped in bacon, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, flank steak and pork loin.

The pork can be a little dry, but it’s not tough and it’s always full of flavor. The flank steak is surprisingly tender, and the best of the meats is probably the filet mignon wrapped in bacon.

Espeto na Brasa is located at 233 Granby street in Norfolk, near the MacArthur Center Mall. Monday through Friday, lunch runs from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Dinner runs from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Hours on Friday and Saturday run from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sunday.